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It's been quite a busy week in the Valley - fires, car accidents, wanted killers on the loose, and even a little bit of tortured romance. Yep, we're definitely smack dab in the middle of November sweeps!

It's been quite a busy week in the Valley - fires, car accidents, wanted killers on the loose, and even a little bit of tortured romance. Yep, we're definitely smack dab in the middle of November sweeps!

The week started off with Zach and Di commiserating about their respective love lives (or lack thereof) on that infamous Pennsylvania oceanfront (I'd love for the AMC writers to point that out on a map sometime - oh well, it's only a TV show, right?). As a Zach/Kendall fan, I was torn when watching those scenes. On one hand, I was very happy to hear Zach talk about his feelings for Kendall. I realized how well Zach knows his wife in that scene. But then, we had to watch Zach kiss Di. It was a very good kiss, I'd just rather it had been with a certain curly-haired Kane woman. But she was busy playing amateur firefighter.

Up In Flames

Note to Kendall and Greenlee: the next time you're caught in a burning building, try calling 911. It's hard for me to accept that two seemingly intelligent women would not think to pick up a phone and call for help. Even when Greens finally suggested it, Kendall just stayed with Greenlee. There was any number of ways for Kendall and Greenlee to get legitimately trapped in the building without making them look so stupid. But the entire scenario just seemed like an unnecessary way to paint Ryan as a hero and have him find out about the baby Kendall's carrying. I'm all for shaking things up during sweeps, but I wish the writers would do so without making their heroines look foolish.

Now, we have to deal with the inevitable "Who started the fire?" mystery. The writers obviously want us to think it was Jonathan - he had just run away from the Pine Cone and the fire was set in the exact same manner as the one at the Wildwind stables. But as we all know, in soap opera land the most obvious suspect is almost never the guilty party. It seems that most people are pointing the finger at Amanda or her mom, the soon-to-return Janet-From-Another-Planet. To tell you the truth, I'm just not that interested.

I Have Fallen in Love With You, Kendall

The fire did facilitate one moment that I had been anticipating for a long time - Zach confessing his feelings to Kendall. Too bad she was asleep! I think Thorsten Kaye did a beautiful job portraying Zach's pain as he quietly admitted that he had fallen in love his with his wife. I wish this moment had been given a little more screen time, but Thorsten definitely made the most of the time he was given. And that kiss on the forehead was beautiful. When Kendall woke up expecting to see Zach, I was thrilled! But I was brought crashing back to reality when Kendall's best bud Greenlee claimed that Zach had never been there. They always have to throw in that extra bit of angst, don't they?

It also seems obvious, from the secretive interactions between Kendall and Dr. Madden, that there is something we don't know about Kendall's pregnancy. In fact, several spoilers have already revealed the secret Kendall's keeping about the baby (in the interest of those who want to be surprised, I won't mention what it is - feel free to email me if you want to know, or check out SOC's spoilers and messageboards). Needless to say, most of us saw this so-called "twist" coming from the beginning, and I for one am dreading the fallout. I have a feeling that everyone will turn on Kendall once everything comes to light - and I'm just praying that Zach doesn't do the same.

Is There a Doctor in the House?

Meanwhile, Jamie and Anita were tending to an injured Amanda, who was run down by a drunken JR, in the emergency room. I guess there were no actual doctors on staff. And, in attempt to win JR's sympathy, Babe decided to cover for her ex-husband and tell the cops that she was driving the car. And it seems like her plot might work, judging by JR's flashbacks on Friday's episode.

But the cops and JR shouldn't concern Babe - she should be worried about Janet, who is scheduled to make her first appearance this week. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Kate Collins will do with this short-term stint. In an interview in last week's SOD, Kate acknowledged that the writers will ignore Janet's previous plastic surgery storyline, so I guess we'll all have to suspend disbelief one more time. I'm hoping that they'll throw in at least one tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact that Janet has her old face back. I also hope that Janet will wreak some major havoc before she leaves - anything to spice up this storyline.

Laveries on Parade

Speaking of wreaking havoc, Jonathan certainly didn't waste any time causing more trouble all over Pine Valley. Poor Lily got the shock of her life when the man who traumatized her dropped in for a visit, and Erica got a jolt when Jonny Boy asked her for a New Beginning - how funny was that?! I'm glad to see that Jonathan had time to watch a little TV while he was recuperating from major brain surgery. I actually think Jeff Branson is doing a good job creating sympathy for a character that was so universally despised, but I'm not ready to accept this new and improved Jonathan yet. And if he says "K-O" instead of "OK" one more time, I'm going to go crazy!

The other two Lavery siblings did their part in ticking me off this week. Yes, Ryan saved Kendall and Greenlee from the fire, and I give him credit for that. But I think any other PV resident would have done the same. And I didn't mind Ryan in his scenes with Greenlee on Friday - mainly because he was just sitting there talking, not yelling or bulging his eyes out. But earlier, when he was trashing Zach and promising to protect Kendall from her husband, I was more than little ticked off - especially when he brought up Zach's phone call to Ryan while he was in Canada. Once again, Zach is taking more heat for helping Ryan fake his death than Ryan is getting for actually doing it!!

But I think Erin was the most annoying member of the Lavery clan this week. I know that Erin loves her family very much and she desperately wants to help Jonathan rebuild his life. But when she starts arguing with the victims, telling them that her brother has changed and wasn't responsible for what he did, I just want to smack her. Greenlee said it best: Erin wasn't there. She didn't experience all the horrible things that Jonathan did. And she doesn't seem to realize that saying, "He had a tumor! It wasn't his fault!" offers no comfort to the people who lost their family and friends because of his actions. She can be an advocate for her brother without being so disrespectful to the people he tortured.

That covers it for me this week - let me know your thoughts on the fire, the baby storyline and everything else AMC. See you back here in two weeks!

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